You Are Not A Monster
by Takagou
Summary: A NaruHina oneshot w/ manga spoilers. Naruto returns to Konoha after his battle, and the first person he sees is Hyuuga Hinata. Now that she knows he contains the Kyuubi, what will she think of him?


A/N I do not own Naruto, but GAWD I wish I did…just for like, a week, so I could make it NaruHina already!

Me: For those of you who care, Accept Me is still being worked on. I'm having some issues with Sasuke's POV at the moment, but as soon as I figure him out, things should flow more quickly.

Sasuke: Why are you talking about a fic no one but you cares about?

Me: GO TO HFIL SASUKE!

Sasuke: …is this another NaruHina?

Me: Yup! One of my only non a/u's, and all from Naruto's POV. Enjoy! (and review O.O! )

( )

Naruto walked toward the remains of Konoha, thankful the battle was finally over. He had worked everything out, and understood what peace meant. It did not mean killing, it did not mean fighting for your personal version of peace. It meant something more, and that something was steeped in love.

He had never known love like most children and teenagers had. Naruto had felt alone for so many years, only beginning to figure out what a family was when team 7 was built. This was why he needed Sasuke back so badly; he was part of Naruto's family, and just as Sasuke was willing to do anything to avenge his family, Naruto was going to do anything to rebuild his own.

Had he ever loved Sakura? Naruto believed she was the only one possible to love him. People saw him as a monster, and Naruto never denied that deep down inside there was a huge risk at being with him. He had hurt Sakura before with the power, but she forgave him, and remained his comrade. What other girl would do that?

Time pressed on, and though Naruto still hoped her feelings would turn from Sasuke to him, he felt less and less inclined to make this event occur as the months went by. It was becoming more and more difficult for Naruto to justify pursuing her. He could not even re-call the last time he thought or spoke her name. Perhaps it was the day they were informed that, despite Sasuke's defeat of Orochimaru, he was still not coming home. Naruto could no longer make delusions of her wanting him, not with the way Sakura reacted to the news. And he, in turn, no longer felt that she was any more than a friend or, perhaps, sister. Naruto had never known any love, so perhaps what he attributed to romantic feelings towards Sakura, in the end, were just the first feelings of sibling affection he had ever known.

It was then he saw her. Her blue hair whipped behind her back in the wind as their eyes met, and Naruto had never felt so relieved to see a person standing up right and healthy. Hyuuga Hinata was more than just alive, as he had been so thankful to feel hours earlier, but she was up and well. The two were frozen, neither able to move. Naruto saw her face begin to go from a pale, blood drained white, to a crimson as a blush rapidly swelled across her soft cheeks. Even her lips seemed to blush, either that or Naruto had never noticed how much their color resembled that of roses.

He was afraid of her. He had just taken down some of the greatest evil his nation had ever seen, and Naruto was afraid of facing Hinata. The frightened look on her face made things even worse. She had seen him, but the wrong him. Right after a girl finally felt for Naruto, she discovered his dark secret; he was a monster. As Kyuubi, he could have killed her. Now she knew his secret, and Naruto could see the fear in her eyes. He was already losing the first feelings of love that had ever been handed to him, all because of the kyuubi. He transformed, and she saw all of it. There was no hiding it, and he was certain no one could love him as a result of this knowledge being made public.

He had to let her know it wasn't his choice, that he wasn't the monster within him. He had to convince her not to be afraid, but how? Naruto began by walking toward Hinata hesitantly, an arm reaching behind his head to scratch and pull at his blonde locks as his crystal clear blue eyes looked at the ground beneath him, unable to meet her gaze again.

"Hinata-Chan," Naruto began, once he reached her, "You…are alright, I see?"

He felt her body shift and stir uncomfortably, and knew that whatever romantic feelings she held for him were now replaced by hesitation and disgust. "Y…yes. Sakura-san healed me very quickly. And…you, Naruto-kun?"

She called him Naruto-kun, in order to be nice no doubt. He half expected her to call him Kyuubi. "Yeah, I'm ok." There was an awkward silence, and Naruto hated every second of it. He had to let her go now, before he shamed himself any worse. He knew she would never say what she felt to him, Hinata was too nice to do anything like that. It was up to him to let her go.

"Hinata, you-"

"Please, Naruto-kun!" she interrupted. He looked at her face for the first time, and saw tears in her eyes. "Please, do not reject me yet. You do not have to return my feelings now, or even ever! Just please, do not go through the process of telling me you do not want me. I will still love you, regardless, and it will just bring unnecessary pain for you to continue with your rejection. I know…I can't hope to have you, not yet. Just please, do not completely close the door to me. I will improve myself, and make myself worthy of you, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto's face was paralyzed in wide eyed shock. What was she saying? _He_ was the monster, _he_ was the threat to her safety, _he_ was the one unworthy of her. She had it all backwards. "Hinata-chan, didn't you see me?" he spoke this slowly, deeply, afraid of her every word.

"I did see you, Naruto-kun. I never knew, but it doesn't matter."

He interrupted her this time. "It doesn't matter? I could have killed you, I could have killed everyone! I am a monster! You don't love me anymore, you can't possibly still feel that way after what happened!"

A wind blew past them in silence as both looked dead into the other's eyes. "You are not a monster, Naruto-kun. My feelings for you… I've tried to forget them for years, thinking that I could never even dream of being with you. They won't dissipate, though. So all I can do now is beg you to never close the door to me, to continue to give me a chance."

Naruto took another step toward her, and felt his eyes begin to water at the realization of what she was saying. "Hyuuga Hinata…are you telling me that you still want me, still love me?"

His intense gaze never left her eyes as she answered, and he could feel the heat of her body and the pulse of her heart beats through his hands as they gripped at her arms, holding her close to him. "I will always love you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto took a second to process her answer, and a wide grin spread across his face as the tears swelled in his eyes. He laughed, wiping them away as he did, and grabbed Hinata, holding her close to him. He did not let go for a long time as he took in the smell of her hair and the heat of her tiny body. It all felt so pleasant, so correct. "I will never let you down again, Hinata-Chan. Your feelings will never go to waste."

He kissed her forehead, and felt Hinata begin to cry as well, only this time he knew the reason for her behavior; she was crying out of joy, just as he was, for they both had the other, and both had lived through the fight to discover the other was not only safe, but that the other's feelings were beyond what was thought possible.

( )

Me: just a short little fic.

Sasuke: He didn't say he loved her.

Me: …..the point was that he was so happy that she still felt for him, it must mean he feels for her as well.

Sasuke: Whatever. They'll all be dead when I go to destroy konoha anyways.

Me: Sigh…Konoha is already destroyed, baka.

Sasuke: Damn. Then I will re-build it, make it better than ever, and THEN destroy it!

Me: I'm out of here. Thanks to D-Rush for the inspiration!! Hope you all enjoyed!!


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